


Paying Forward

by BaiTeasterKat



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Beauregard's grand ability to think she can't be loved is featured at the end, F/F, Jester's normal bookstore schenigans, baby's first fic lol, this is just fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-28 10:45:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19810669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BaiTeasterKat/pseuds/BaiTeasterKat
Summary: Beau joins Jester's latest bookstore raid in Rosohna. It is less awkward in the way that she assumed. Fluff ensues.





	Paying Forward

Typically Beau didn’t tag along for the bookstore raids. That was something Jester and Caleb would bond over and Beau didn’t mind. They could do all the cheesy smut book deep-dives that they wanted. Beau would do a joke reading if boredom calls but beyond that it was a time waster she didn’t particularly went after. Too many throbbing euphemisms for dicks for her. She did her best reading in a library, go figure, anyways.  
Today, Caleb had decided to stay back at the Xhorhouse to catalogue the party’s loot. Jester had been ‘assisting’ by hanging out since a lot of stuff tended to get shoved into the haversack. Rereading _The Salty Sea_ got old quick, which left Jester to pester Caleb about his organization methods. It was amusing to watch Jester switch around the piles a few times. Beau even provided distraction. Caleb eventually grew annoyed and suggested that Beau and Jester go pick up new books (and get out of his hair for the time being).  
Jester, meanwhile, was flitting around the stacks of books. She seemed to be picking up books at random, flipping them open then putting them back down if disinterested. She had a couple tucked into one arm. Beau glanced around the small shop and accidentally made eye contact with the drow shopkeep. An intense staring match continued on for a minute until he squinted at her and started to stand from his chair. Beau took to following Jester behind a bookcase and picking up a random book.   
_Annie on My Mind_ seemed like it would some romance book from the perspective of some obsessed guy if Beau was to judge from the title alone. To her pleasant surprise the two leads were actually two girls from different schools and social statuses. It seemed interesting and Beau might of kept hold of it if not for the fact that school girl romance was kinda beyond her. The shopkeep seemed to have been convinced she was a serious customer. He had returned to his book when Beau poked her head back around the bookcase.   
Beau looked around and found Jester doodling a dick in the middle of some books before putting it back amongst the stacks. Beau watched her for a moment. Jester was smiling and humming to herself as she browsed the stacks. Sometimes the tiefling would actually scan the pages and other times she would jump straight into doodling. Beau felt bad for what she was about to ask for. She took a step back and looked to the drow shopkeep and made eye contact for a split second. Jester was flipping through a book titled _Tell Me How You Really Feel_.   
“Hey Jes, are you done or do you need a few more minutes?” Beau approached  
“I have a couple of books picked out. Is something wrong, Beau?” Jester set the book back down.  
“What? No,” Beau said, “I just think the shopkeep is getting ansty with my loitering.”  
“We can leave soon. Just let me switch around this shelf,” Jester held out her two books, “Mind holding these for me?”  
“No problem,” Beau replied.  
Jester went to work switching books from the shelves and tables. Beau looked at the two books: _Everything Leads Back to You_ and _A Marriage of Unconvenience_. From the title she could conclude that they must be sappy romance novels. The monk glanced to Jester, who was still preoccupied. She was pleasantly surprised that they weren’t somewhat cringey smut books with bad boys and damsels. The first book seemed to feature a woman who worked backstage with set design and an actress. The second had an heiress and her best friend who returned from some academy. Apparently the only stipulation for the inheritance is that the heiress to get married- not that it had to be a guy.   
“Beau, can I have my books back? You can also read them but I need to buy them first,” Jester prompted.  
Beau handed them back, “I was just surprised you picked out something that wasn’t some bodice ripper smut.”  
“I read other things than just smut,” Jester stuck out her forked tongue before heading to the shopkeep.  
The drow sticks a bookmark in his book before he looked for the prices of the books in his ledger.   
“Four silver,” He charged.  
Jester went to reach for her coin purse then suddenly looked confused. She whirled about, patting her skirt as if it got misplaced somehow. The cleric frowned.  
“Jester, is everything ok?” Beau asked.  
“No. I think I left my coin purse with the haversack. That means I won’t be able to get the books,” Jester sighed.  
“I’ll pay for it,” Beau took out one of her pouches of coins and paid for the books.  
Jester took the books, “I can give you the money back.”  
Beau shook her head, “Nah. Just think of it as a gift.”  
Jester beamed. She went on her tiptoes and gave Beau a kiss on the cheek, “Thanks Beau.”  
The tiefling then headed to the entrance and started to push the door. She was just going along like nothing happened. Beau was a little starstruck. She was a little mad at herself because her face felt warm- meaning that she was blushing. She didn’t figure Jester would be giving kisses to someone like her. Beau shook her head and squashed that piqued interest. Jester was just an affectionate person and decided to thank her. Nothing to read into that.  
“Beau? Are you coming? We have to get back before Caleb decides my coins are some undivided loot,” Jester called out from the doorway.  
“I’m on my way,” Beau snapped herself out of her thoughts and went after Jester. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hey so you made it through! This was kinda self indulgent. I want to thank the Critical Role Girls server for providing the books mentioned. The books mentioned, besides The Salty Sea, are all real books. I haven't read them but they all seem interest, of course I twisted some of the details to fit the setting.  
> Marriage of Unconvenience by Chelsea M. Cameron  
> Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour  
> Tell Me How You Really Feel by Aminah Mae Safi  
> Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden


End file.
